Moog Little Phatty Explained

Synth Name:Little Phatty
Synth Manufacturer:Moog Music
Synthesis Type:Analog subtractive
Polyphony:monophonic[1]
Oscillator:2
Filter:1 selectable 6, 12, 18 or 24dB/octave
low-pass
Attenuator:ADSR
Lfo:1
Velocity:yes
Aftertouch:no
Keyboard:37 keys[2]
Ext Control:MIDI, CV/Gate
Memory:100 patches
Fx:none
Dates:2006-2013

The Little Phatty is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 2006 to 2013, preceded by the Voyager and succeeded by Voyager Old School. Its design was conceived, in part, by Robert Moog himself, and is the last instrument to have that distinction, although the primary engineer was Cyril Lance. It is also the first Moog product to be produced following his death. Jordan Rudess of the band Dream Theater also assisted with the design of the product.[3]

It is one of the few Moog synthesizers to utilize MIDI from the factory (the others being the Minimoog Voyager and the earlier Memorymoog+). This allows for better integration in the modern studio and for live performance.

On 9 September 2013, Moog Music announced the discontinuation of the Little Phatty analog synthesizer.

Versions

There are currently four versions of the Little Phatty. Aside from a few cosmetic differences (and price), all units have nearly identical sound generation circuitry.

Tribute Edition

The earlier 'Tribute Edition', a limited run of 1200 units, featured blue LED lighting, wooden side panels and Bob Moog's signature decaled onto the convex back panel.

Stage Edition

The later 'Stage Edition' featured orange and red lighting, grey rubberized panels and the classic Moog logo replacing the signature.

Stage II

The third version, called the Stage II, had some minor mechanical and electrical tweaks as well as adding a USB interface, a new arpeggiator and tap tempo.[4]

Limited Edition

There is also a rare limited edition with blue LED lighting that came in a purple aluminum case. This version also has the USB interface. It has the regular Moog logo on the back panel and shipped in a custom flight case with the Moog logo on the case. This was a limited run of 100 units.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Little Phatty by Bob Moog. Sound On Sound. November 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20150409141516/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov06/articles/phatty.htm. 9 April 2015.
  2. Web site: Little Phatty by Bob Moog . www.soundonsound.com. en-gb. 2018-08-16.
  3. Web site: Adams . Mike . Little Phatty Analog Synthesizer: Stage II Edition . Little Phatty Manual . April 11, 2019.
  4. Review: Moog Little Phatty Stage II. WIRED. en-US. 2018-08-16.